High Data Rate (HDR) is an emerging mobile wireless access technology that enables personal broadband Internet services to be accessed anywhere, anytime (see P. Bender, et al., “CDMA/HDR: A Bandwidth-Efficient High-Speed Wireless Data Service for Nomadic Users”, IEEE Communications Magazine, July 2000, and 3GPP2, “Draft Baseline Text for 1xEV-DO,” Aug. 21, 2000). Developed by Qualcomm, HDR is an air interface optimized for Internet Protocol (IP) packet data services that can deliver a shared forward link transmission rate of up to 2.46 Mbit/s per sector using only (1×) 1.25 MHz of spectrum. Compatible with CDMA2000 radio access (TIA/EIA/IS-2001, “Interoperability Specification (IOS) for CDMA2000 Network Access Interfaces,” May 2000) and wireless IP network interfaces (TIA/EIA/TSB-115, “Wireless IP Architecture Based on IETF Protocols,” Jun. 6, 2000, and TIA/EIA/IS-835, “Wireless IP Network Standard,” 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), Version 1.0, Jul. 14, 2000), HDR networks can be built entirely on IP technologies, all the way from the mobile Access Terminal (AT) to the global Internet, thus taking advantage of the scalability, redundancy and low-cost of IP networks.
HDR has been adopted by Telecommunication Industry Association (TIA) as a new standard in the CDMA2000 family, an EVolution of the current 1xRTT standard for high-speed data-only (DO) services, commonly referred to as 1xEV-DO, Rev. 0 and standardized as TIA/EIA/IS-856, “CDMA2000 High Rate Packet Data Air Interface Specification,” 3GPP2 C.S0024-0, Version 4.0, Oct. 25, 2002, which is incorporated here by reference. Revision A to this specification has been published as TIA/EIA/IS-856, “CDMA2000 High Rate Packet Data Air Interface Specification,” 3GPP2 C.S0024-A, Version 1.0, March 2004, Ballot Resolution, but has yet not been adopted. Revision A is also incorporated here by reference.
A 1xEV-DO radio access network (RAN) includes access terminals in communication with radio nodes over airlinks. Each access terminal may be a laptop computer, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a dual-mode voice/data handset, or another device, with built-in 1xEV-DO support. The radio nodes are connected to radio node controllers over a backhaul network that can be implemented using a shared IP or metropolitan Ethernet network which supports many-to-many connectivity between the radio nodes and the radio node controllers. The radio access network also includes a packet data serving node, which is a wireless edge router that connects the RAN to the Internet.
1xEV-DO, Rev. 0 radio access networks handle all connections with access terminals in an identical manner. Network resources are allocated to connections on a first-come-first-served basis. If there are insufficient network resources available when a connection request is received, the connection request is denied.
One feature that can be enabled by 1xEV-DO, Rev. A radio access networks is classification of connections into priority levels (e.g., high priority level or low priority level) based on quality of service (QoS) requirements. Network operators of QoS-enabled radio access networks can implement a tier pricing structure commensurate with different guaranteed levels of connection-based performance, such as bandwidth, call blocking rate, and call drop rate. Examples of ways in which a QoS-enabled radio access network can be used include priority level classification based on static information (e.g., a user subscription level or an access terminal type), dynamic information (e.g., a requested QoS service type), or both.
In one example of priority level classification based on static information, user profiles each indicating a subscription level (e.g., gold, silver, or bronze) of a user and/or a type of access terminal (e.g., Rev. 0 access terminal or Rev. A access terminal) that is associated with the user are communicated to the radio access network by the packet data serving node. When a connection request is received by the radio access network from an access terminal, the radio access network accesses the user profile associated with the access terminal making the connection request and classifies the connection as being a high or low priority level connection based on the user subscription level and/or access terminal type. For example, connections requested by Rev. 0 access terminals are classified as low priority level connections and connections requested by Rev. A access terminals are classified as high priority level connections. This form of priority level classification may result in low resource utilization if the resources allocated to the high priority level connections between the Rev. A access terminals and the radio access network are not fully utilized (e.g., the Rev. A access terminal is configured to support delay sensitive services but those services are not used during the lifetime of the connection), while connection attempts made by Rev. 0 access terminals are denied due to insufficient network resource availability.
In one example of priority level classification based on dynamic information, the radio access network supports premium services, such as delay sensitive services (e.g., a push-to-talk service or a Voice over IP service). In order to guarantee a certain level of performance to users of premium services (“premium users”), the radio access network needs to distinguish the premium users from users of best effort services (“regular users”). To do so, the radio access network relies on the signaling behavior of access terminals (e.g., in accordance with the Generic Attribute Update Protocol defined in the TIA/EIA/IS-856, Rev. A standard) to indicate whether a premium service is being activated. The signaling behavior of some access terminals negotiates and activates premium services during session configuration before setting up a connection. Other access terminals are configured such that the signaling behavior negotiates and activates premium services after the connection is established. In the latter case, the radio access network may be unable to identify an access terminal as being operated by a premium user during resource allocation and deny the connection attempt if there are insufficient network resources available. This may result in a failure to satisfy a service availability guarantee to premium users.